As Tim has mentioned, we’re big fans of the rebate/discount app, ibotta. It’s helped us save a little money over the holiday season and came in handy when we were shopping for our Christmas gathering meal items. Now that the holiday season is over, it’s time to tidy things up around our house. Thankfully, we can save a little bit of money while we do that with these rebates and coupons for Swiffer products.

While writing this, the Swiffer rebates weren’t appearing on ibotta.com, but they are appearing in my app, so those savings may be hit or miss for you.

As with many things in life, there are some recurrences that we just can’t escape. One of them being cold and flu season. I especially dislike this time of year as my oldest son hates to take cough medicine, unless it’s a specific flavor; Orange. Unfortunately for him (somewhat), the medicine that he does like to take is for fever reduction and not for cough suppression. Go figure.

Yep, we’re still using ibotta and it’s still working quite well for us, both in saving money and earning us some nice deals on our typical purchases. This has been a very welcome assist during the holiday season as well. More money for toys…for the kids.

While I won’t get into the entire Zarbee’s story, I will say that if you’re looking for a new type of cold medicine for your kids, or even for yourself, give this a look. They have both immunization/vitamin “gummies” and honey-infused cough and mucus reducer syrups that pass the “picky kid test” and also do a great job in, you know, handling cough and cold symptoms.

Bring on the deals!

ibotta has a number of rebates on Zarbee’s products right now, making it a great time to check this brand out, if you haven’t already.

One of the great features of ibotta is the teamwork bonuses and goal rewards. This month, there are three $10 bonus levels that can be earned (for a total of $30 in bonus pay) along with a variety of product bonuses when you buy multiple quantities and combinations of select products.

To say we’ve been hooked on money-saving apps since discovering ibotta is an understatement. I’m frequently looking for deals on everything that we buy now and have found another neat iPhone and Android app that can save you a little coin on your groceries. Similar to ibotta, Checkout 51 will give you rebates for your “basic” daily purchases. Focusing on grocery items, you can get rebates on items such as milk, eggs, tomatoes, bananas, miscellaneous health and beauty items, and more.

Using the app is simple, maybe too simple, if you’re used to having to go through multiple steps to redeem a rebate. After you’ve browsed the list of possible rebates, take a photo of your receipt and then select the eligible items that you’ve purchased. Once you’ve made your selections, submit the receipt image and wait for your rebate confirmation notice from Checkout 51. See, I told you it was simple.

The rate to cash out your earnings is higher than other apps in this category. Set at $20, you’ll need to redeem a few purchases before you are able to have your money sent to you.

We haven’t spent as much time using this app, so our total earnings aren’t as high as what we’ve received using other apps and services, but this looks to be a nice way to augment your savings, especially on items that you purchase on an every day basis.

With the start of another school year only days away, it marks the time of year where Lisa and I finalize ideas for Box Tops for Education collection contests for our children’s school. She’s come up with some amazing ideas in the past, and this year was no exception.

Playing after the school’s mascot of the pirate, she created a contest where students collect Box Tops in an effort to move their pirate ship along a treasure map. This is where I get to help out in designing a banner that is hung in the hallway of the school. It’s a great way for the kids to see how their class is doing as the year rolls on and, to be honest, it’s a fun opportunity for me as well.

Here’s to hoping our program for this year is as successful as in years past!

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a coupon-clipper. I don’t spend time searching out the best deal for typical, “every day” items. When I need to make a big purchase, that’s when I’ll do some digging and find the best deal that I can. But all of that has changed.

A few weeks ago, I started using ibotta, an iPhone and Android app that gives you rebates for items that you’d purchase any day of the week (and a few that you might not). Milk, eggs, bread…the basics. Those all have rebates available from stores that we shop at. That’s a huge key to the success of this app, and it’s appeal.

There are a variety of ways to “cash out” your earnings once you’ve started saving. You can link your PayPal account, Venmo account, or a variety of gift-card options. You’ll need to accumulate a minimum of $5.00 in rebates before you can transfer your funds, but that can be accumulated easily if you find a few great deals to get you started.

Lisa and I have been having great success with ibotta after only a few weeks of use. We have both redeemed over $45 (each) in rebates. That’s literally, money in the bank.

A diamond in the rough.

Last week, I replaced my well-used iPhone 4S with an iPhone 5s. No big deal, right? Well, with a possible iPhone 6 right around the corner (and knowing my 4S wouldn’t make it much longer), I wanted to make sure I got the best deal I could. Thankfully, I found a rebate from Best Buy on ibotta that gave me $20 back on a $200 purchase. Coupled with a few additional savings measures, I only needed to spend $100 on a phone that retails for $299.

While the Best Buy rebate is a bit of an edge case, there are similar discounts and offers that you can find on ibotta. You just need to find what works for you.

Other apps and services that can help you add to your savings:

In addition to ibotta, I have been using a few other apps to help maximize my savings. Every little bit helps, right?